October 22, 2024
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5 min read
Welcome nonprofits, charities, and change-makers! We get it - standing out among the thousands of nonprofits in Canada can seem like an impossible challenge. But nonprofit branding can help with that.
Picture the largest and most successful nonprofit organizations and charities in your mind.
What do you see?
Do you see the black and white panda for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)? Or the Red Cross for the American Red Cross? The colour blue may remind you of Goodwill Industries or UNICEF.
Stand-out nonprofit branding helps organizations like yours become easily recognizable. From brand colours to your visual identity, nonprofit branding is the first step to differentiating yourself, building client loyalty, and raising funds so you can make a difference.
At Spark & Pony, we’re a nonprofit branding agency driven to make a difference. We design, build and support brands and websites for some of the most innovative organizations, social enterprises and businesses in North America.
We’ve put together a list of nonprofit branding tips, examples and principles to help guide you through the change-making space. Backed by our over 34+ years of experience, this guide has valuable content and resources for you.
Nonprofit branding is how your organization differentiates itself from others and communicates who you are. It showcases the “why” behind your work and why supporters should believe in you.
Branding isn’t just your visual identity… it’s how you communicate and show your nonprofit to the world.
Read more: Brand Strategy - The Ultimate Investment
So, why is branding so important for non-profit organizations and charities?
93% of nonprofits believe that creating a strong brand identity can increase donor engagement (Mallory Erickson)
68% of charities (more than two-thirds) say a strong visual brand increases volunteer interest (99designs)
74% of nonprofits say a strong brand identity leads to an increase in recurring donations (Mallory Erickson)
The number one reason Gen X may choose not to donate to an organization is an outdated website (HubSpot)
Branding can change lives… literally. Successful and powerful branding can get people to notice your organization and support your cause. If you want more volunteers, donations, supporters, online recognition, and leads… then nonprofit branding is the first step you have to take.
Firstly, let’s explore the personality and overarching mission of your organization. WHO you are should be the first step in your nonprofit branding journey.
This is your nonprofit organization's ultimate goal.
Your message and mission statement will affect your brand story, taglines, and how you communicate with the world.
To figure out your message, ask yourself:
Taking time to figure out exactly who your organization is should be the very first thing you do on your branding mission. After all—for your audience to rally behind and trust you, they first need to know and like you.
Once you have your overarching goal as a nonprofit organization, it’s time to analyze your brand positioning.
While nonprofits and charities may not be direct competitors with one another like traditional businesses, you still need to differentiate.
To understand your market positioning, we recommend the Three C’s of Brand Positioning: Consumer, Competitors, and Company.
Consumer - Who is your target audience? Who are you helping with your organization? (i.e. those who can’t find accessible housing above the age of 65)
Competitors - Who are the other nonprofit organizations and charities in this niche? (i.e. identify other non-profits in your niche)
Company - What sets you apart from other organizations that already exist? (i.e. why are you here? What do you do differently that can help bring positive change? Do you service a different region than other organizations, or do you help a particular group of people?)
Read more: Brand Positioning: Your Tips For Building Brand Legacy
Now you know your primary mission (where you’re going and why) and your brand positioning (who you’re helping and which non-profits you’re trying to stand out from)... it’s time to create your brand voice.
The first step in creating your brand voice is determining your brand personality. Think of it as a set of characteristics that guides how your business or non-profit behaves in the world. Your brand personality should encompass your values and mission and be a holistic representation of who you are.
Your brand voice is your personality, and it includes the words and language you use to communicate that personality to your audience. Your brand voice is the messaging behind your marketing and the thoughtful consideration of the words you use to tell your story.
Your brand tone is different than your brand voice. Your brand tone is how you speak, not the words you speak. While your brand voice should remain the same because it's your identity, your tone may change depending on the audience or situation. Think of it as a person. They are always the same person, but how they interact with the world changes if they are at home with their friends, at work with co-workers or at a funeral with their family.
If you’re looking for an example of an iconic brand voice and personality, look no further than Duolingo. Here are some examples from their Brand Guidelines.
Personality: Inspiring, Inclusive, Can-Do, Curious, Quirky
Voice: Expressive, Playful, Embracing, Worldly
Tone: “Sometimes we'll share funny pop-culture references. Sometimes we'll share content that's much more serious. This content can coexist if we're careful about tone.”
Secondly, let’s explore the LOOK of your nonprofit organization. Your visual identity is a big part of presenting as a trustworthy and recognizable brand… a non-profit people can trust.
If you were a sponsor or someone looking to do good in their community:
Let’s dig into the elements of your visual branding.
Your logo isn’t your entire brand, but it should be the foundation of your visual branding. An instantly recognizable, well-designed logo pulls all the other pieces of your branding together.
Whether symbol-based or wordmark-based, your logo should build a connection between the essence of your nonprofit goals and your audience. Well-designed logos are more likely to inspire brand loyalty in consumers by 48%.
Let’s play a game. Take a look at the image below and see how many logos you can instantly identify.
Did you get them all right? If any of these brands had different (or poorly-made) logos, they may not hold the same industry positions as today.
What’s a logo without a colour palette? It’s well-known that colour influences psychology and is regularly used in marketing and business. Likewise, having set brand colours can reinforce your brand and create consistency with your dream audience.
“Research has shown that using a signature colour can cause an 80% increase in a consumer’s recognition of your brand.” (Reboot)
Not only do signature colours increase consumer recognition, but they can also communicate your brand’s personality.
If you need a revamp of your brand colours, we recommend booking a discovery session with a nonprofit branding agency like us. We create timeless brands that connect with audiences through strategic branding and design.
Have budget constraints? You can also check out free colour palette generator tools, like this one from Hubspot.
Learn more: Why Design and Visual Branding Matter
Typography is the style and appearance of written text and involves line and letter spacing, font choice, and point sizes. Your nonprofit organization has a personality and voice - so let’s match it to your logo and typography.
Good typography choices include:
Simple and clean sans-serif fonts communicate a different message than a timeless and classic serif font.
As you can see, typography makes a big difference.
As a nonprofit branding agency, we are experts at branding do’s and do-not’s. Read along and learn some best practices as you brand and market your organization.
Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools in your nonprofit branding toolbox.
Not only can it help your audience understand how you create change, but it can also help them relate to your cause and get excited about it. Crafting and telling stories of why your organization exists with testimonials of how you have changed lives will create loyal supporters who are passionate about your brand.
People want to see that their money, time and donations are being used wisely. So show them! Use the tools at your disposal, like blog posts, social media posts, YouTube videos, email newsletters etc. to tell the stories of the people whose lives you are helping with your work.
Make your nonprofit organization as personal as possible! For example, take an organization like World Vision. They don’t just accept financial donations, they allow people to get personally involved by ‘Sponsoring a Child’. Donors receive a name and photo of a child in need, and their financial sponsorship helps provide basic necessities, such as healthcare and education, to the sponsored child.
Another great example is the Taronga Conservation Society Australia. They run an ‘Adopt An Animal’ program with eight animals and six levels to choose from. Would you rather occasionally donate funds to a faceless organization or adopt a koala? We can tell you, the koala wins every time. (Even though the end goal is the same!)
Personalization goes hand-in-hand with storytelling and lets your audience feel as included and passionate about your cause as you do.
We don’t know about you, but we love a well-designed and factual infographic. And your audience does, too. Infographics help visually tell a story and communicate helpful numbers and data to your supporters without overwhelming them.
Clear communication with data, impact measurement and facts will create trust with your audience.
Infographics can be used to:
Take a look at this example from WWF.
Our team at Spark & Pony has over 34+ years of experience helping nonprofit organizations create strategic brands that spur organizational growth and increase fundraising. We’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite nonprofit branding work below.
Zetna Collective is an organization that aims to foster positive life experiences for the 2SLGBTQ+ Black, African, and Caribbean communities in Edmonton. They wanted a timeless, easy-to-use website that provided education and resources, featured their events and programs, and supported funding their internal initiatives.
We collaborated with a local designer, Brnesh Berhe to design their brand identity and logo. We then translated the branding into a beautiful, high-performing website that will help Zetna create change for years to come.
View our portfolio work for Zetna Collective here.
California Approves is a grassroots political organization that aims to improve democracy in California. We helped them create an inclusive and forward-thinking visual identity with a modern logo that made use of bold colours and contemporary typography.
We then supported their team with a branding and style guide and website homepage mock-up, including concise SEO-optimized content that told their story, mission and vision for the future.
View our portfolio work for California Approves here.
No Limits Collective (NLC) is an organization that addresses the need for accessible housing by collaborating with property owners, builders, and non-profits to build and manage barrier-free homes that benefit the community. Their main goal was to create legitimacy with a robust brand and website.
To kick things off, we facilitated a brand discovery session that involved in-depth discussions about their mission, target audience, and unique selling points. From there, we developed a strong visual brand and messaging that we translated into their new website.
View our portfolio work for No Limits Collective here.
Spark & Pony brings 34+ years of combined experience creating beautiful digital products and meaningful brands. We are passionate about making a difference in the world and using our creative talents to do it.
If you’ve read this guide and feel you need more assistance on your nonprofit branding journey, we’re here to help. Reach out to our team and let us help you make a difference with your non-profit.
Learn more: 4 Essential Rules For Branding Your Non-Profit
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